George Taliaferro, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the first black player drafted by the NFL, died Monday night at the age of 91.
The Bears selected Taliaferro out of Indiana University in the 13th round of the 1949 NFL draft, held in December of 1948, making him the first black player drafted by an NFL team. A native of Gary, Indiana, Taliaferro grew up a Bears fan, and was stunned to get the news that his favorite team had drafted him.
He recounted that story in 2008 to the Chicago Tribune’s Fred Mitchell, noting that while eating at a restaurant on 47th Street in Chicago after a football practice, football star Earl Banks joined Taliaferro’s group and asked, “Guess who was drafted by the Bears?